Indianapolis Institutions

Interests:My primary interest is genealogy. Been doing that for the past 9 years. Second to that is the supernatural, again, primarily ghosts. I also have a fascination with asylums and state mental hospitals. I'm always ooking to learn more about all three.

Posted 08 May 2008 - 07:47 PM

Can anyone tell me anything about the Indianapolis Orphan's Asylum and central state institutions on Indianapolis? I saw a show last night, Children of the Grave, on the Scifi channel and it got my curiosity going regarding these facilities. I've always been interested the most in asylums, state menta hospitals, and the like. Hoping someone out there can fill me in on those in Indianapolis. I was there a few times, but didn't really get interested in those kinds of places till after I went, so I never bothered checkin out any of them. Very interested in learning more. Are there any sites available to gather knowledge about them? I'm in Lancaster PA, so if anyone has any knowledge of places like that that use to run here, I would sure appreciate it. I don't know of any myself, I guess because there aren't any still operating. Nonetheless, I'd still like to know of any here, or nearby.

Central State is being torn down over the next couple of years. Entry is with permission only. During the day you can look around the grounds. Someone is writing a history about Central State Hospital sans the paranormal.

The orphan asylum is another story. That show you watched was full of crap. There is no mass grave. They were buried in unmarked graves and now there is a monument with a list of the children. The records for these children are available through Crown Hill for any real researchers (which I doubt the makers of this film were) and through the Indiana Historical Society Press. Additionally, Crown Hill, where the kids are buried is owned by the people who bought the plots and governed by a board of Corporators and managers. CH has a very strict video and photography policy and it does not avocate the whole ghost biz.

That's not quite correct about Crown Hill's photography policy. They encourage photography and have, in the past , had photography contests. I was just there about a week and a half ago and took several hundred pictures all over the cemetery. Its a beautiful place. I have two ancestors buried there. I haven't had any paranormal experiences there nor were there any orbs or other phenomena in any of my pictures, but its a great place to visit if you love cemeteries (which I do).

I did drive by Central State Hospital, but it was early evening and too late to go into the museum and walk around the grounds. Its in a kind of bad area so I didn't even stop the car to take any pictures thru the gate. I'm hoping there is some of it left next year when I go back (I visit Indiana every year).

Central State is being torn down over the next couple of years. Entry is with permission only. During the day you can look around the grounds. Someone is writing a history about Central State Hospital sans the paranormal.

The orphan asylum is another story. That show you watched was full of crap. There is no mass grave. They were buried in unmarked graves and now there is a monument with a list of the children. The records for these children are available through Crown Hill for any real researchers (which I doubt the makers of this film were) and through the Indiana Historical Society Press. Additionally, Crown Hill, where the kids are buried is owned by the people who bought the plots and governed by a board of Corporators and managers. CH has a very strict video and photography policy and it does not avocate the whole ghost biz.

I saw the same show last night on SyFy. I have always been interested in this type paranormal history. As I was watching the show and saw all of the unmarked graves and they said that there around 1000 of them I was wondering "why did all of these babies die"? I missed the first few minutes of this program. Was there a flu epedemic or some other catastrophe that took these childrens lives? It was just heartbreaking to think of all of those scared, virtually unloved children dying without the love and support of parents or guardians helping through their last moments on earth.

I have researched other asylums and find them very interesting. If anyone has more information on this or any other institution please share it with me and I will do the same of what I have found.

Interests:ghost hunting, roadtrips, playing guitar, horror movies, and being me.

Posted 09 October 2009 - 03:14 PM

I saw the same show last night on SyFy. I have always been interested in this type paranormal history. As I was watching the show and saw all of the unmarked graves and they said that there around 1000 of them I was wondering "why did all of these babies die"? I missed the first few minutes of this program. Was there a flu epedemic or some other catastrophe that took these childrens lives? It was just heartbreaking to think of all of those scared, virtually unloved children dying without the love and support of parents or guardians helping through their last moments on earth.

I have researched other asylums and find them very interesting. If anyone has more information on this or any other institution please share it with me and I will do the same of what I have found.

Thanks,~Dy~

If I remember correctly it was because of tainted milk that get served to the children. I could be wrong since I saw the show in may '08.